Problem: Technical wireframe vs. aesthetic expectation

Two teams can say "quick demo" and mean entirely different things.

To Marketing, a quick demo meant a visual draft, an early look at how the design would feel. With no prior UX experience, they briefed based on whether the work looked eye-catching and beautiful. That perspective was fair, as they had spent years running campaigns that lived or died on visuals.

To us, a quick demo was a technical wireframe, and visual treatment came after.

Where I went wrong was underestimating how foreign that approach would feel. I assigned our BA to liaise and delivered wireframe prototypes directly. To Marketing, the screens looked half-finished, so they reacted strongly, and our BA was caught off guard.